The small mining town of Rosebery on Tasmania’s west coast is divided over the plans by some residents to sue the local mine owner. Ten residents say they have poisoned by the mine’s heavy metals

Rosebery Tasmania Vs Minmetals

Rosebery owes its existence to the Minmetals minning company, which produces zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold, but 10 residents say they have been poisoned by the mine’s heavy metals. The mine is the town’s main employer and claims that it is poisoning locals has angered a much bigger group of Rosebery residents.

FROM CRIKEY:http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/10/is-rosebery-a-health-hazard/

In November last year, two women from the mining town of Rosebery in the hills of western Tasmania hit local media headlines with a call for an investigation into the presence of heavy metals in the water around their homes.

ROSEBERY MAP 7470

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They got their investigation, but now they have rejected the findings of a Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services toxicology investigation into the presence of heavy metals in their town and health problems experienced by locals, saying the DHHS failed to conduct adequate testing of humans and ground water in their research.

Metal poisoning issues vs Jobs

Locals say they have suffered a range of symptoms including dizziness and hair loss from heavy metals that have seeped onto their properties.

Local woman Jo Powell was so concerned at the claims she set up an online website called Rosebery is not Contaminated.

FELICITY OGILVIE: Four-hundred people have already joined her Facebook page. But Jo Powell says some of the comments posted have been so offensive she’s had to remove them.

Testing for the presence of heavy metals and their effect on residents is not unusual in Australia. In 2007, residents of the West Australian town of Esperance were poisoned by lead carbonate dust being transported from a mine in Wiluna to the Port of Esperance for bulk loading.

Unlike Rosebery, in Esperance ground water was not an issue, but soil, marine sediment and air testing was undertaken by the West Australian government as well as isotopic fingerprinting linking the lead found in humans to that of the Wiluna mine.

METALS POISINING ROSEBERY REPORTS AND RESEARCH

RELATED LINKS:

1. [PDF]
   

   Media Release 10 November 2009 Taskforce Warns Rosebery Residents

   File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – Quick View
   10 Nov 2009 … contamination in Rosebery several residents from Rosebery have … the Final Report in April this year this information has not been …
   www.lead.org.au/Rosebery_Heavy_Metals_Taskforce_MedRel_Taskforce_warns_Rosebery_residents_20091110.pdf

2. [PDF]
   

   Investigation into Concerns Regarding Seepage Water in a Rosebery …

   File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – Quick View
   2 Apr 2009 … Other sources of contamination such as contamination from sewage or …the wider Rosebery area; o The investigation did not identify any …
   www.epa.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=1476